70 pct of Turkish youth unemployed, depend on their families

Seven out of 10 Turkish citizens between 15 and 24 are unemployed, and therefore are dependent on their parents, a report by the main opposition CHP revealed on May 19, National Youth and Sports Day.

Wednesday May 19 2021 11:36 am

Serkan Alan / DUVAR

Seven out of 10 Turkish workers between 15 and 24 are unemployed and are hence dependent on their families, a report by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) revealed on May 19, National Youth and Sports Day.

The CHP report placed the blame of unemployment on the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and titled iy "AKP System Makes Youth Homebound, Grows Unemployment, Debt and Despair."

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) reported at the end of 2020 that 12.8 million Turkish citizens, among which only 3.3 million were reported as unemployed in February 2021.

TÜİK essentially lost its credibility as a result of contradictory data they released during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some 11,171,000 persons were excluded from the workforce in February 2021 data because they'd lost all hope of finding employment and were no longer looking.

TÜİK reported 25,3 percent unemployment among the youth in the first quarter of 2021, and 41 percent workforce participation among workers aged 15 to 24.

Some 59 percent of youth have reported their unemployment to be a negative impact on their family lives, while 80 percent said that their unemployment was alienating to them among their peers.

Families who exhausted all resources for their children's education are forced to cover their student loans and unemployment expenses as a result of mass youth unemployment, the CHP added.

"The AKP is expecting college graduates to pay back their loans without creating employment for them," the report said.

The number of unemployed and uneducated potential workers aged 15 to 29 has neared six million, the report noted, adding that 20 percent of college graduates in the country were out of a job, and not looking for one anymore.

Well-educated members of the work force are leaving Turkey, the CHP noted, adding that the portion of youth between 20 and 35 who migrated out of Turkey had increased by 70 percent in the past four years.